Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Beginning in the 1970s, the [neo-conservatives] combined populist antielitism with attacks on leftists, environmentalists, feminists, gay men and lesbians, and organized labor. They advocated a dictatorship in which a "humanist" elite would rule on behalf of industrial capitalists. ... Their views, though exotic, were internally consistent and rooted in right-wing populist traditions.

A former Trotskyist, [Irving Kristol], founded the [Neo-Conservative movement] ... as an offshoot of the radical student movement. But in the early 1970s, [Kristol] engineered a political about-face ... The result was a fascist organization with some unique strengths: a dedicated, full-time cadre of several hundred members, a high proportion of intellectuals with advanced training, familiarity with leftist theory and organizing, and inside information about radical organizations and leaders.